Kingston Township, the heart of the rich and beautiful Wyoming Valley, one of the eleven of the Susquehanna townships into which Luzerne County was divided in 1790, also one of the original formed under the authority of Connecticut and the Susquehanna Land Company, has been diminished from its original size by taking off Dallas and parts of Franklin and Lake townships, and now contains but twenty-nine square miles, but is all naturally the most productive agricultural lands in the state. From this twenty-nine square miles are to be subtracted the territory of the four boroughs: Kingston, Dorranceton, Forty Fort and Wyoming. Stewart Pearce says it derived its name from Kingston, Rhode Island, and was originally called " Kingstown."

The "forty" Yankees who entered the valley in 1769 had among them Ezra Dean and family. When they had their territory assigned and located they all met under the trees and Dean proposed to furnish the crowd a quart of whisky for the privilege of naming the township. The proposition was accepted and Mrs. Dean named it " Kingstown." All took a pull at the bottle and then said " Kingstown " and it was christened. The memorable old Forty Fort stood within its limits, on the river a short distance below the church, about eighty rods from the river. The first sawmill was James Button's on Tobey Creek, built 1778. With Dallas and parts of Lake and Franklin, in 1796 it contained the following taxables:

The Kingston Township was not only stripped of its territory by taking portions to make other townships, but a large part of it now is in thriving boroughs. Commencing with Kingston and running north, is borough joined to borough for miles, reaching nearly to the north line of the township. To Kingston is added Dorranceton, Forty Fort and Wyoming, all being of recent formation, and all rapidly improving and property advancing. From the public square in Wilkes-Barre starts the electric car lines, and branching to Luzerne all the points to Wyoming are now well served, and the ride to the borough of Wyoming, now (August 15, 1892) ready to run to Pittston, and before this is in print, on to Scranton, is a delightful excursion. You pass one moment through the business portion of a borough, then palatial residences and their well-kept lawns and shade trees; then the gardens and truck patches, and then perhaps a good-sized field of waving corn. How rapidly the panorama has changed the past twelve months — and how this will go on, until pretty much all Kingston Township is the suburban towns of Wilkes-Barre, is not difficult to see. A gentleman can now do business in the city, and his family and residence in this beautiful suburb will be as formerly when their home was a few squares away.